The following is a summary of “Effectiveness of functional training versus resistance exercise in patients with psoriatic arthritis: randomized controlled trial,” published in the December 2023 issue of Rheumatology by Silva et al.

Researchers performed a retrospective study comparing the effectiveness of functional and resistance exercise in improving function and quality of life for psoriatic arthritis patients.

They randomized 41 psoriatic arthritis patients (18 to 65 years old) into functional training and resistance exercise. The active group did elastic band exercises, and the resistance group did machine resistance exercises twice weekly for 12 weeks. Outcome measures included the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) and Health Assessment Questionnaire for the Spondyloarthropathies (HAQ-S) for functional capacity and status, one-repetition maximum test for muscle strength, Short Form 36 health survey questionnaire (SF-36) for quality of life, and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS-28) for disease activity. A blinded evaluator conducted analyses at baseline (T0), six (T6), and twelve (T12) weeks post-exercise initiation.

The results showed homogeneous clinical and demographic characteristics between the groups at baseline. Both groups exhibited statistical intra-group improvements in BASFI, BASDAI, HAQ-s, and DAS-28. Regarding quality of life, both groups demonstrated statistical intra-group improvements in all domains except the “emotional aspect” domain in the resistance exercise group. Statistical improvement occurred in muscle strength for all exercises in both groups, except for the “alternate biceps (bilateral)” exercise.

Investigators concluded that functional and resistance training boosted function, disease activity, and quality of life in PsA patients.

Source: advancesinrheumatology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42358-023-00342-y